New Home for Folk Music Inaugurated in the Transylvanian Diaspora

Péter Szilágyi, Deputy State Secretary for National Policy (C) and Gyöngyi Balázs-Bécsi, President of the Kallós Foundation (R)

The activity of the Kallós Foundation is proof of the vitality of the Hungarian diaspora, said the Deputy State Secretary for National Policy on Tuesday in Cluj-Napoca at the inauguration of the new building of the Kallós Zoltán Folk Music School.

At the inauguration of the building of the Kallós Foundation in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), one of the bastions of Hungarian-language education in the Transylvanian Heath (Mezőség), Péter Szilágyi made it clear that the foundation, that was established in 1992 and “has now reached the age of Christ,” has come a long way and “has progressed in small steps with tireless perseverance.”

He pointed out that the question of whether the goal of preserving and maintaining folk traditions and passing them on to the younger generation had been achieved could never be answered definitively, as it was always the next generation that would decide whether there would be someone to continue the work. “The Foundation’s staff and partners, including the Hungarian government, believe that there will be someone. We trust that what emerges from such a pure and selfless endeavor as that of the Foundation will receive the blessing of providence,” he said.

This trust is not unfounded, as the Hungarian primary school in Válaszút (Răscruci) started in 1999 with five children and has been in operation for 26 years,

he noted.

Photo: MTI/Kiss Gábor

The politician thanked the foundation’s staff for their persistent work to preserve and maintain the memory of its founder, ethnographer Zoltán Kallós. “Today, an institution that aims to preserve and pass on one of the most complex elements of Hungarian culture is moving to its new home. The costumes, movements and customs associated with dance are a common wealth of the Carpathian Basin, the Hungarian diaspora,” he emphasized, pointing out the importance of Transylvania and the Hungarian community in Transylvania. Péter Szilágyi recalled the thought of Zoltán Kallós:

We remain Hungarians as long as we sing and dance in Hungarian.”

Ferenc Balla, director of the Kallós Foundation, noted that the history of the school began in 2014. Initially, it was housed in a rented building, and then, due to the unsuitable conditions of the old seat, a new building was conceived for it, the construction of which began in March 2024. The three-story building, built with the support of the Hungarian government and the Bethlen Gábor Fund, is a worthy place for teaching Hungarian folk music and folk singing, where over 100 children study.

Gyula Szép. Photo: MTI/Kiss Gábor

Gyula Szép, the initiator of the music school and vice-president of the foundation, said that “the lack of a folk music school was felt first-hand,” as there were no instrumental musicians to invite to events. In 2014, the situation was ripe for the school to start. This also required qualified teachers, graduates of the music academy, to teach.

The “tentacles” of the music school extend from the Transylvanian Heath to Sălaj (Szilágyság) and Aiud (Nagyenyed), and all the conditions are in place for the experts to carry out important value-preserving work.

Albert Vajas, the director of the folk music school, told MTI that the large hall on the lower floor of the new building will be used for smaller events, chamber music group lessons and lessons with larger instruments. The upper floor will be used for teaching smaller instruments and singing lessons, while the top floor will be used as staff accommodation as the school offers lessons on weekdays as well as weekends.

Preservation of Language Is the Basis for the Preservation of Identity